𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 - 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

06. the monster

THE SAME NIGHT AS LAST CHAPTER

"Aubrey! Nancy!" Jonathan, Ruth, and Beatrice each yelled. Jonathan gripping Nancy's backpack, Ruth holding Aubrey's.

"I don't understand! They couldn't have gone far!" Beatrice yelled.

"I mean, they were literally just right there!" Ruth said, they all grew frantic as they searched for Aubrey and Nancy, yelling as loud as they could for them.

Aubrey ran around frantically, yelling for her brother, for Nancy, for Ruth, for Beatrice, anyone that could hear her.

She heard Jonathan's voice faintly.

"Jonathan!" She screamed, "I'm right here!" She cried out, turning in every direction.

"I'm right here!" She could hear him yell back so faintly, along with Ruth and Beatrice, "Aubrey! Just follow my voice!" He echoed.

She thought she had found the way he was coming from and began walking, "Jonathan!"

"Follow our voices, Aub, we're right here!"

She continued to walk, but she didn't see anyone or anything. Just these trees, all covered in some strange goo-like substance.

"Aubrey!" She turned and saw the creature again. She screamed and began running in the other direction.

She ran and hid behind a tree, nearly jumping as she saw Nancy again, who was hiding there too. They stood shoulder to shoulder against the tree, trying to stay as quiet as they possibly could.

The monster continued to growl, stomping around. Aubrey shut her eyes tightly, she didn't even know if she believed in God, but right now, in that moment, she sure was praying to someone.

"Follow my voice!" Jonathan echoed again, Aubrey turned her head to her right, seeing the tree they came from. She nudged Nancy in the shoulder ever so gently, Nancy turned and saw it too. That was their only exit.

"Aubrey?" Jonathan leaned closer to the weird, webbed hole at the bottom of the tree, "Nancy?"

A hand poked out suddenly, startling all of them. Jonathan fell back.

"Jonathan!" Nancy yelled, he quickly recovered and grabbed the hand, attempting to pull her out. She finally fell out and on top of him, while Aubrey was still inside of the tree, Rue and Bea each tugged her arm, with all of their strength and finally she fell out too, they held her tightly in their arms as she sobbed.

"It's okay, it's okay." They tried to console her. "You're okay, you're alright." they repeated to her.

Aubrey stood in Nancy's shower. The only thing in her mind was everything she saw, just replaying on a constant loop. The monster, that sick place, her friends screams.

"You alright?" Beatrice called out, whom Aubrey had made sit in the bathroom while she showered. She was too afraid to be alone.

"Y-yeah." She said back to her.

"Just take your time, you're alright." Beatrice consoled her. Everyone else was in Nancy's room while Aubrey cleaned all the dirt and webs off of her face and hair.

She just couldn't get the image of that monster out of her mind.

She dried off and changed into a pair of Nancy's clothes, her and Beatrice returned to her room then, where they had set up a few sleeping bags with pillows and blankets.

"You alright?" Rue immediately asked when they walked in, Nancy shut and locked her door behind them.

Aubrey just nodded, "We figured we'd all stay." Jonathan said, "So, you guys aren't alone."

She nodded and hugged her brother, tightly. "I'm sorry." He said to her.